Many motorcycle riders choose to lock up their bikes for the season when the weather turns cold and icy. For those die-hards who ride year-round, safety is paramount. Driving conditions have deteriorated for everyone on the road, and motorcycles may not get the same amount of traction that riders are used to. Here are five tips for motorcycle safety during winter weather:

Check Your Tires Before Riding: It is important that your tires are in good condition before you head out onto the slick roads. Make sure that your treads have not worn down, and check your tire pressure, which may be low because of the cold. You need as much traction as you can get.

Be Equipped for the Weather: The basic safety gear remains the same for winter motorcycle rides, such as a helmet and jacket. However, you must also dress to keep yourself warm. Numbness in your hands or feet may impair your ability to control your bike. You can protect yourself from the elements by using additional wind guards and heated grips.

Help Your Bike Warm Up: Your motorcycle will get warmer as you continue to run it, but it will not take long for it to cool down. Stopping at an intersection may be enough time for your tires to cool, decreasing your traction once you starting moving again. Some riders sway to retain heat, while others quickly accelerate and decelerate a couple of times. You may need to simply be cautious as you wait for your bike to warm up again.

Take It Slow: You will face more road hazards than normal, such as icy roads and cracks created by snow plows. Riding at a slow speed can help you maintain control of your bike when you encounter these hazards. Give more space to the vehicles in front of you because your decreased traction means you need more time to brake. Be smooth when accelerating, braking, or making turns.

Avoid the Snow: Snowstorms can create the slickest road conditions and decrease your visibility. Your best safety precaution is to not ride your bike if there is a chance of snow. If it starts snowing while you are riding, you need to either slow down or stop somewhere to wait out the storm.

Contact a Crystal Lake Personal Injury Attorney

You are responsible for your own medical expenses if you are injured in a motorcycle accident caused by wintery conditions or your own negligence. However, another party may be liable if he or she caused your accident. A McHenry County personal injury attorney at Botto Gilbert Lancaster, PC, can help you receive injury compensation for your motorcycle accident. Schedule a free consultation by calling 815-338-3838.

States will be closely watching the effects of a new Utah law that will lower its blood alcohol concentration limit to 0.05 starting Dec. 30. Utah is the first state to set a BAC limit that is below 0.08, which has been the limit in all states for several years. There is a global precedent for the limit, with about 100 countries having a BAC limit of 0.05 or lower. Other states may follow Utah’s lead if the law corresponds with a decrease in alcohol-related traffic deaths. Critics argue that lowering the BAC limit will do more to increase the number of arrests for driving under the influence of alcohol than it will save lives.

Inexact Science

It is already debatable as to whether the 0.08 BAC limit accurately measures whether a driver is intoxicated. The limit attempts to quantify how much alcohol it takes to impair someone’s driving ability. Different people have different tolerances to alcohol, and not everyone will be impaired with a BAC of 0.08, let alone 0.05. People with a higher alcohol tolerance may show no signs of driving impairment with a BAC of 0.08, which helps them avoid suspicion and arrest. However, police officers may stop and question these drivers for reasons other than showing signs of impairment, such as:

Minor traffic violations;

Vehicle equipment malfunctions;

Sobriety checkpoints; and

Traffic accidents caused by another party.

A 0.05 BAC limit makes it more likely that an unimpaired driver will be arrested for DUI.

Dividing a family business in a divorce is difficult if each spouse has equal ownership of the business. To include the business in the division of property, the spouses must:

Agree on who will own the business after the divorce;

Thoroughly assess the value of the business; and

Find other properties to award in exchange for the business.

Spouses can avoid these complications by choosing to remain co-owners of the business after their divorce. This is not a viable option for every divorce but can be mutually beneficial when spouses agree to it.

Valuation Process

Spouses immediately benefit during the divorce negotiations when they both keep ownership of the family business. They do not need to go through the long and complicated valuation process because they are not dividing the business. Neither spouse will have to give up valuable marital properties in exchange for total ownership of the business. The divorce agreement can presume that each spouse will receive equal value from the business as long as they are co-owners. Skipping the business valuation process saves time and money.

Temporary workers do not receive all of the benefits that regular employees enjoy but are still entitled to workers’ compensation benefits when they are injured on the job. Unfortunately, some employers will tell temporary workers that they are ineligible for workers’ compensation because of the nature of their employment. Temporary workers who believe workers’ compensation is not an option may be stuck with large medical debts or decline helpful medical treatments in order to save money. The company that employs and pays a temporary worker is responsible for providing workers’ compensation insurance.

Injury Risk

Temporary workers regularly suffer workplace injuries, despite working at a place for only a limited time. There are several reasons that temporary workers can be at greater risk of injury than other workers:

Temporary jobs often involve heavy and sometimes dangerous labor;

The employer may be using temporary workers because regular employees will not take on the risky work;

Temporary workers are unfamiliar with the work environment and may not receive on-site training;

Temporary workers may be less experienced at the job than regular workers; and

Temporary workers have less confidence in citing safety concerns because of the tenuous nature of their employment.

Responsible Employer

A temporary worker has the right to file for workers’ compensation and receive medical benefits and payment for lost time. The staffing agency that placed the worker is likely the party responsible for the workers’ compensation insurance. The company where a temporary employee goes to work is a third-party client of the staffing agency. In many cases, the staffing agency pays the temporary workers instead of the client, making them employees of the staffing agency.

The legal distinction between a sidewalk and other walking surfaces may determine the success of your personal injury case. The Illinois Snow and Ice Removal Act states that property owners who remove snow from sidewalks abutting their properties are not liable if someone is injured because of icy conditions created by the snow removal. This legal immunity makes it difficult for people to receive personal injury compensation when they slip and fall because of an untreated accumulation of ice. However, some Illinois courts strictly interpret the law as applying only to sidewalks and not other paved surfaces.

Liability Standard

Illinois law does not require property owners to clear the snow off of their walkways or hold them liable for personal injuries on their property caused by a natural accumulation of snow or ice. Before the Snow and Ice Removal Act, personal injury victims could claim that property owners who cleared snow from their sidewalks created an unnatural accumulation of snow. The melting snow piles caused icy conditions on sidewalks. The Snow and Ice Removal Act changed the liability standard, and property owners are now liable only if:

They willfully or wantonly created the hazardous condition; or

Negligence in the condition of the property caused an unnatural accumulation of snow or ice.

Thus, property owners are not liable for the melt off from a pile of snow they have created, but they may be liable if a malfunctioning gutter system caused the ice accumulation.

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